Conventional graphical user interface systems provide icons which may be graphical representations of windows which have been taken from their operating state to some minimized view giving a minimum of identification data only, i.e. enough information so the operator knows what the window would be if selected. Preferably, icons are representations or pictures that suggest what the window is or what the window does. When opened, the icon enlarges or zooms to a conventional window with action bars, title bars, other icons and application data. Users cannot enlarge icons to an intermediate size to allow interaction with application data or information. Thus, for many simple operations, users are forced to deal with the full complexity of graphical interfaces. Additionally, when the window is closed, it is shrunk down, or tokenized, to an icon, generally positioned at the bottom of a screen, and the information entered into the window is not visible.
From the above, an icon may represent a window. When the icon is selected and a window is caused to be opened, information may be entered into the window. The operator must first select the icon to open the window and then select an action within the window such as, for example: add an event. Upon selection of the action, another window appears to allow the operator to fill in the new event information. Subsequently, the operator initiates the command to store the new information which allows the new information to be integrated into any information previously entered. The operator must then close the second window into which information was added, and, finally, close the first window which allowed the selection of a window for the adding of information. Thereafter, the operator would be returned to the screen from which the original icon was activated and the updated information would again be available for viewing by the operator only when the icon is again selected and a window is opened.
Thus conventional icon/window usage requires numerous operator steps to enter information and to be able to view and review the information. Additionally, conventional icon/window technology results in the opening of a full window upon selection for opening of an icon. It currently is not possible to enter information into an icon and, therefore, both time and screen space is wasted. Also, there is no utilization of multiple dimensions to visually indicate various factors. Thus, there is a need for a method and apparatus to allow direct user interaction with information contained in icons that utilize various dimensions to indicate different factors.